Shonda Rhimes Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics

Shonda Rhimes is an American television producer, author, and screenwriter who is best known for being the showrunner of Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, and Scandal. She has a production company named Shondaland and has served as the producer of numerous TV series such as Off the Map, How to Get Away with Murder, The Catch, and Station 19. Shonda has won numerous awards such as the GLAAD Media Awards, NAACP Image Awards, Producers Guild of America Awards, Directors Guild of America Awards, and Writers Guild of America Awards.

Born Name

Shonda Lynn Rhimes

Nick Name

Shonda

Sun Sign

Capricorn

Born Place

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Nationality

Education

Rhimes completed her high schooling from Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights, Illinois.

She subsequently enrolled at Dartmouth College to major in English and Creative Writing and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in 1991.

After a small-time in advertising, she enrolled herself in the writing for screen and television programs at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, earning her Masters of Fine Arts (MFA).

Occupation

Television producer, television writer, screenwriter

Family

• Father – Vera P. Cain (Was Chief Information Officer at the University of Southern California)
• Mother – Ilee Rhimes, Jr. (College Professor)
• Siblings – Sandie Rhimes (Older Sister), Carter Rhimes (Older Brother). Shonda has 2 another older sisters and another older brother.

Manager

Judy Smith

Build

Large

Height

5 ft 6 in or 168 cm

Weight

74 kg or 163 pounds

Boyfriend / Spouse

She has not publicly dated anyone. In fact, she doesn’t want to get married. During an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Rhimes made a firm declaration that “marriage isn’t for me.”

But, she decided she wasn’t going to wait for a man to fulfill her dreams and adopted 2 beautiful daughters in 2002, and February 2012.

She had her 3rd daughter in September 2013 through gestational surrogacy.

Race / Ethnicity

Black

She is African American.

Hair Color

Black

Eye Color

Dark Brown

Sexual Orientation

Straight

Distinctive Features

Infectious smile

Measurements

37-30-38 in or 94-76-96.5 cm

Dress Size

14 (US) or 44 (EU)

Bra Size

34C

Shoe Size

10.5 (US) or 41 (EU)

Brand Endorsements

She has endorsed the brands like Dove.

She has launched her own Shondaland Candles.

Shonda has also advertised for

• Carolina Herrera
• Foolies Clothings
• Jimmy Choo
• America Girl

She has appeared in print ads for Pilot pens (G2 premium gel pen).

Religion

She is a Protestant Christian.

Best Known For

• Rhimes is a critically acclaimed and award-winning creator and executive producer of the hit television series Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, and Scandal.
• Her Entertainment Company “Shondaland” which won the 2014 Directors Guild of America Diversity Award.

Directorial Debut

Blossoms and Veils (1998)       

First TV Show

In 2005, Shonda appeared on the talk show, Tavis Smiley.

Personal Trainer

Jeanette Jenkins is Rhimes’s personal trainer who helped her lose a dramatic 117 pounds. During an ABC TGIT Celebration event in LA, Shonda revealed her amazing weight loss program, which was a drastic change from her earlier appearances.

Shonda Rhimes Favorite Things

• Food – Roast Chicken, Apple Pie
• Beverages – Dead Letter Office Shiraz, Sidecar Cocktail
• TV Shows – Orange is the New Black, Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, Game of Thrones
• Music – Duran Duran, Ray Charles, Nina Simone, John Lennon, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder
• Books – To Kill a Mockingbird, Columbine, The Kid, Little Women, The Stand
• Celebrities – Mohammed Ali, Prince, Donna Summer
• Movies – Star Wars, Argo
• Causes – Creative Arts, Domestic Violence, Empowering Women, Health, Police Brutality
• Charities – Actors Fund of America, Allstate Foundation, Planned Parenthood

Source – Billboard, Billboard, Redbook Magazine

Shonda Rhimes Facts

1. She was part of a championship marching band in high school.
2. While studying at the University of Southern California, Shona worked as an intern at Debra Martin Chase.
3. In the past, she worked at Denzel Washington‘s company, Mundy Lane Entertainment.
4. She loves to watch the national spelling bee competition and is known to live-blog the Scripps National Spelling bee.
5. She has had the same best friend (Christina Yang) since when she was 10 years old. This friend is depicted in Grey’s Anatomy as a confident and powerful woman.
6. She made a guest appearance on The Mindy Project as herself, a brilliant TV producer who also happens to be the beer pong champion of Dartmouth.
7. Rhimes was ranked at the top of her class and earned the Gary Rosenberg Writing Fellowship.
8. In 2015, Shona released her first book titled Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun, and Be Your Own Person.
9. She is the first African-American woman to create and executively produce a Top 10 network series.
10. She pursued a prestigious MFA after she heard that it was actually harder to get into film school at USC than it was to get into law school at Harvard.
11. She got the idea for Grey’s Anatomy from a random comment from a doctor at a hospital that seemed very irrelevant at that time.
12. Rhimes was named Times Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” in 2007.
13. She loves listening to music when she writes. It’s no surprise that many of her favorite music artists make it to her TV episodes.
14. She suffers from glossophobia, which is the inability of speaking in public.
15. In September 2021, it was revealed that Shonda had resigned from Time’s Up board.
16. In November 2021, Shonda revealed that her Bridgerton was already renewed until season 4 by Netflix. At that time, 2nd season was getting produced in the United Kingdom. However, she believed that the show Bridgerton should, at least, come until season 8 as there were 8 siblings.
17. In October 2022, Shonda purchased a mansion in Westport, Connecticut, for $15.17 million.

Featured Image by Greg Hernandez / Flickr / CC BY 2.0